Most Expensive Big Mac

In 1986, The Economist published a humorous attempt to quantify the purchasing power of different currencies. The article was so successful that they’ve published a new survey every year since the original was published. It’s called the Big Mac Index and, for our purposes, the most important thing it can tell us is where to buy the world’s most expensive Big Mac.

The Big Mac—consisting of two 1.6 oz beef patties, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onion and special sauce served on a sesame seed bun—is McDonald’s signature sandwich. It was created in 1968 in Uniontown, Penn. by McDonald’s franchisee Jim Delligatti. Thankfully, the names he’d coined for the burger, “The Aristocrat” and the “Blue Ribbon Burger,” didn’t stick. An Advertising Secretary in McDonald’s corporate office was responsible for the name of the Big Mac. Since then, it has gained international recognition.

The most expensive Big Macs in the world come from Denmark, Switzerland, Norway and Iceland. A Big Mac in Denmark will cost you 27.75 Danish kroner ($5.08 US). The same sandwich costs 6.30 Swiss francs ($5.20) or 40 Norwegian kroner ($6.88). The most expensive Big Mac in the world can be purchased in Iceland. It’ll cost you a whopping 469 kronur ($7.61).
Conversely, the cheapest Big Macs in the world can be purchased in Hong Kong and China, where they can be purchased for 12 dollars ($1.54) and 11 Yuan ($1.45) respectively.

While the Big Mac Index, lacking consideration for the many factors in the cost of a Big Mac that may not be present for other goods, provides a somewhat simplistic and flawed view of purchasing power parity, it’s the best tool available if you want to know where to purchase the world’s most expensive Big Mac.